Went for a little trip Upstate NY to spend the night over and try to go see some new places to walk.

We had done Walkway over the Hudson once before but only walked halfway over the bridge years ago. We had some difficulty finding the parking lot for the park. The GPS directions kept taking us down some side streets saying we have reached our destination, but we were just in front of someone’s home. Eventually we did find it by being more observant and following the pedestrian bridge in sight to locate the parking. Some renovation work was being done and the project signs saying that they will be completed in the spring 2019. Because we had some delay in locating the parking lot we missed doing the actual walk because the park just closed, and they lock the bridge to pedestrian traffic at night. The park officer advised that they would be opening at 7am the next day so we noted that mentally to make sure we got up early to squeeze it in. We drove around through Poughkeepsie and tried to find another park to get closer to the rivers edge, so we could view the Mid-Hudson Bridge all illuminated. It was such a beautiful night with the crisp winter air. The moon was just a sliver of a crescent and the night couldn’t have been more enjoyable.

It had snowed in the overnight but that wasn’t going to stop us from re-attempting to do the walk we had originally planned on the night before. The snow slowly changed to a freezing rain with small hail but that did not deter us! We knew how to navigate back to the parking lot of the park and set on our way. There was not too much wind on the walk across and the views of the city below were beautiful. Might need to try this hike again when the weather warms up and the trees are in bloom. I’m sure the views will be even more beautiful. The walk was interesting considering the snow and the freezing rain which made for some slippery parts especially at the expansion joints. The signage on the sides of the bridge gave some history as you walk across which highlighted some interesting historical information.

Once crossed over to the west side of the Hudson river the path continues as part of the Hudson Valley Rail Trail. We had continued a little on the trail which brings you to a caboose. Not sure if visitors are allowed inside so we did not attempt. Considering the weather, we pushed as far along as we could, taking refuge under any cover we could including any information stations and bridges, before we decided to turn back around to make it back to the parking lot.

It’s during this time that the wind had picked up considerably and we just did a fast walk back trying to avoid being pelted by the small hail. Made it back to the car and defrosted and kept pushing forward to see what we could do next. The weather was not what we had expected, and plans changed so we just drove around taking in the sights while staying in the comfort of the heat in the car.